Friday, June 11, 2004

After serving three years in prison for stabbing his 18-day-old niece, East Windsor man will be deported to his native Guatemala.

TRENTON — An East Windsor man pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault on Monday for stabbing his 18-day-old niece in the chest and abdomen multiple times with a scissors.
Juan Francisco Lopez, 21 at the time, was arrested on Dec. 4, 2002, after he stabbed his niece, Daisy Andrea Herrarte, with a scissors. The incident took place in the apartment Mr. Lopez shared with his sister, Mirna Lopez, and brother-in-law, Victorio Herrarte, in the K Building of the Windsor Castle Apartments on Devonshire Drive.
The baby survived the trauma.
Mr. Lopez, now 22, was indicted on Aug. 16, 2002, on charges of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and two weapons offenses, according to Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the Mercer County prosecutor's office.
Based on the plea, Mr. Lopez will be sentenced to three years in prison beginning July 16 for the aggravated assault charge. After he is released he will be deported to his native country, Guatemala, Ms. DeBlasio said. He will be required to serve two and a half years in the United States before he is released to Guatemala where he will serve three more years.
Mr. Lopez is an illegal alien from Guatemala.
"Mr. Lopez's deportation was part of the agreement," she said. "The day he's paroled he immediately gets on a plane to Guatemala where he can no longer be of a threat here."
The plea was made at Mercer County state Superior Court in front of Judge Maryann Bielamowicz.
A federal immigration judge waived Mr. Lopez's right to appeal deportation, Ms. DeBlasio said.
If Mr. Lopez had decided to appeal the deportation, the process could take up to two years, Ms. DeBlasio said.
"By waiving the right for appeal, there is no chance of that and no danger," Ms. DeBlasio said.
In a court statement on Monday, Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Rubin said the baby's mother and father were consulted regarding the plea agreement.
The scissors attack began when an argument erupted between Mr. Lopez and his sister, Ms. DeBlasio said.
According to reports from the prosecutor's office, Mr. Lopez forced his sister from the bedroom where the argument began, locked the door and said, "Your daughter has to die."
Mr. Herrarte already had left for work when the attack happened, Ms. DeBlasio said. The East Windsor Township Police Department responded to two 911 calls for an unknown emergency at Mr. Lopez's apartment complex. When they arrived, Mr. Lopez was still in the apartment and was taken into custody, Ms. DeBlasio said. Ms. DeBlasio said the baby was transported to Capital Health System, Fuld Campus, where she was treated and stabilized. She was immediately flown by helicopter to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Public Defender Charles Centinaro said Mr. Lopez will not be allowed back into the United States after he is deported to Guatemala.
"I think it was a fair judgment," Mr. Centinaro said.